One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies & Southwestern Style Caprese Salad

This evening I baked some Chocolate Chip Cookies when I got home. I actually made the cookie dough last night and refrigerated it. It was ready to just scoop and bake when I got home. I love this one-bowl cookie recipe. It makes 24 regular sized cookies or 36 small cookies. I decided to make smaller cookies this time by using my little 1 tablespoon retractable scoop. I still have enough dough leftover to make a fresh batch of cookies whenever I want to over the next week or so. These cookies are so easy to make and because they use only one bowl, clean-up is easy too. After they were finished baking, I decided to try something different. I wanted to see if I could slightly crisp them without burning them. You need to be careful when baking with almond flour because it is easier to burn than regular flour. So, after they baked for the usual 15 to 18 minutes...I turned off the oven and let them stay in the hot oven for another 5 or 6 minutes until they were dark golden brown. I let them cool before trying them. The exterior was crispier and the inside was still nice and tender. It was like having a "combo cookie!"

I wasn't very hungry for dinner this evening since I ate a pulled beef sandwich for lunch. Later on in the evening, I decided to have a simple "tomato and cheese sandwich" using some fresh tomatoes one of my sweet neighbors brought over to us last night. Unfortunately many of my tomatoes seem to have become the food supply for an annoying little chipmunk that has decided we planted them just for him!!! What he doesn't eat, he leaves behind after taking a little bite out of them and tossing them on the patio.

Now, back to my dinner...as I began slicing the big beautiful ripe tomato, I decided not to bury it in between 2 pieces of bread. I remembered that I had a big block of Cabot Pepper Jack Cheese in the fridge that I had picked up at Costco. I sliced up some cheese and decided to make a "Southwestern Style Caprese Salad" instead! I layered the sliced tomatoes and spicy cheese in a stack and picked it up with my hands and ate it! LOL How is that for a mental picture? Was it messy....YES! Was it delicious....YOU BET!!! The Cabot Pepper Jack Cheese is so different than the sliced pepper jack cheese you buy in the store. This cheese is so creamy and smooth and it's loaded with big pieces of hot peppers. It was awesome and I will definitely keep Southwestern Style Caprese Salad on my list of favorite ways to enjoy garden ripe tomatoes (but next time I'll drizzle it with avocado oil and eat it with a fork and knife). I snapped a few photos of my dinner below. I've also included photos of the Chocolate Chip Cookies that I had for dessert (or to be honest...that I had as an appetizer this evening)! I hope you enjoy these "one bowl beauties."  ;-)  I've also included the recipe. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies - One Bowl

Ingredients:

2 cups blanched almond flour

1 teaspoon baking powder (aluminum free)

1/4 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup Swerve sweetener, or to desired sweetness (I used 3/4 cup in mine)

1/4 cup butter, softened (1/2 stick)

4 ounces (brick style) cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup 70% or 85% cacao chocolate bar (3.5 ounces), chopped (use 70% for sweeter chips)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a medium mixing bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and Swerve sweetener (or other granular sweetener).  Make a well in the center of the bowl and add softened butter, cream cheese, egg and vanilla extract. Using a wooden spoon, cream and mix dry and wet ingredients together until the dough is mixed and blended well.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in walnuts and chocolate chips/chunks and mix just until blended.  Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls (or chill dough and lightly roll into balls for neater cookies) onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet or nonstick baking pan. Very lightly tamp down (do not flatten) since the cookies do not spread much while they bake.  

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Cookies are very soft when hot and will firm up as they cool.  Let sit 10-15 minutes and then transfer to a rack using a spatula to cool. Makes about 2 dozen cookies (or 3 dozen small cookies).